Pencil clip



1. P. NIELSEN.

PENClL CLIP.

APPLICATION FILED 050.13, 1920.

Patented Feb. 21, 1922.

JENS IP. ll'IIElIvSEN, OF CI-IICAGC, ILLINOIS a W te PENCIL CLIP.

Specification of Letters Patent Patgnted F b 2 1 2 Application filedDecember 13, 1920. Serial Nuisance.

To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JENs NIELSEN,-

citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in a Pencil Clip;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to clips as used for detachably retaining pens orpencils in pockets, and more particularly to a clip of this kindarranged so that it can readily be released by the pressure of a fingeron one end of the spring-pressed tongue which clamps the holder to thewall of the pocket when it is in use. For this purpose, my inventionaims to provide a novel construction which will permit the easy andspeedy assembling oftheparts in firmly united relation to one another,and which preferably will also permit the use of a spring made of astifiermaterial than that demanded by the forming operations as requiredboth for the tongue of 'the clip and for the band portion whichencircles the pen .orf'pencil A More particularly, my invention aims toprovide a construction for this purpose in which the band portion isfirmly interlocked with the resilient portion during the forming of theband, and in which the firm in terl'ocking of. these parts can. readilybe obtained without notching or, otherwise in-' denting the spring. Italso aims to provide a simple method for assembling such parts in firmlyunited relation to one another without employing rivets or otherauxiliary fastening elements. Still further and more detailed objectswillappear. from the following specification and from the accomanyingdrawings, in which i Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a pencil clipembodying my invention, showing'the same as used on a penciland'indicating in dotted lines the position of a hand releasing the clipfrom a pocket.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the band portion of the clip.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the stem portion or pressure arm of theclip before this portion is attached to the spring.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section through the band portion of theclip taken along the correspondingly numbered line of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged bottom view of the same blank, also having dottedlines to show tne curvature-into which the wings of the blank areafterwards formed.

, Fig, 7 1s perspective view similar to Fig. 3 but showinganother-typeof stem for a pencll clip embodying my invention. Fig.8 is aband member suitable for another embodiment of my'inventiom namely onein which the spring is lntegral with the band and in which thefree-portion of the spring is recessed to interlock with the wings onthe stem of the proposed clip. L

V In constructing a pencil .clip after the manner of Figs 1 to fiinclusive, I first form a blank outj of resilient sheet metal such asbrass or steel, which blank has a-central back 1 and a pair of -lateralwings 2 at opposlte sides'thereof. 1 I also form from the b'aolrl atleast one strip- 3 extending transversely'of the back and raisedirom thesaid back by" asufiicient distance topermit the ready sliding of one endor a spring 4 be} tween the same, thereby producing what is shown lnFig. 5. The spring 4 desirably consists of a flat piece of strip springsteel,

pl 'shi P- i I also (and desirably by punch press operations) hlank andform the stem or pressurearm-for. the clip, which stem desirablycomprises a shank 5 terminating in a ball 6 atits lower end and infinger engaging tip 7 at its upper end, and having afpair oi lateralwings 8v disposed at opposite sides of'it and at a relatively shortdistance from the'upper end 7. I then secure the spring 4 to thisstem byturning the wings 8 over oneend or the spring so as to clamp thisportion of the spring between them after the manner of Fig. 4:, thisbeing readily done by a simple punch press operation. After the stem hasthus been rigidly secured to the spring, I slip the other end of thespring between the back 1 and the strap or straps 3 of the band memberof the proposed clip, or into the position of Fig. 6, after whichsubject the band to the forming operation which gives the curves itswings into the shape shown in Fig. 4. Din

perspective view showing a ing this forming operation the portions ofthe straps 3 which connect therear thereof with the wings 2 will tend tocurve into alinement with these wings, and will also tend to curve theinterposed portion of the spring, thus causing the ends of the strap ofthe stemwhere this can readily be reached by a finger of the handgrasping the pencil,

' so that the clip can easily be released from a pocket by: pressureexerted between the thumb and the forefinger after the manner shown inFig. 1. Moreover, since I can make-the spring portion of a materialwhich could not be formed to shapes such as those required for eitherthe stem orthe band por tion of my clip, I can obtain a permanent andhigh resiliency in the spring. Likewise, since no notching, perforatingor other indenting of the spring is requlred, this part is very cheaplymanufactured; and since no rivets or other auxiliaryfastening membersare needed, the entire cost of the clip can be kept quite low. I amtherefore able to pro.-

"L dime a pen or pencil clip'at a low cost, while providingbothdurability and a high degree of permanent resiliency and while permitsting the resulting clip to be manipulated with case when the penorpencil is to be inserted in a pocket 10 or withdrawn from the latter.7

However, while I haveheretefore described my invention in a highlydesirable embodimentflmd have pictured the same in an ornamental formincluding a ball tip 6 for the stem, and an ornamental opening the wingsof the pocket member, I do not wish to be limited to these or otherdetails of the 7 construction and arrangement thus disclosed.

(after the manner shown in Fig. 7), as a substitute for the ball 6.Likewise, the ornamental openings in the wings 2 of the bandmember mightbe omitted as shown in Fig. 8 and the spring might be made integral withthis band after the manner shown at 9 in the same'figure. So also, theresulting shank 9 ofthis member might be laterally notched as shown inFig. 8 for interengagement with the wings 8 on'the stem member of theclip, although I have not found such a notching necessary for securing afirm interlocking when assembling my clips after the general mannera'bove'described. 1

I claim as my invention:

. 1. In a pencil clip, a pressure member, a resilient intermediaryelement fastened at one end to the pressure member, and a band memberadapted to grip a pencil andfhaving a pairof strap portions struck uptherefrom and spaced longitudinally of the'pen'cil and cooperating inclamping the, other end of the intermediary member rigidly tothe bandmember. f

2. In a pencil clip, a pressure member, a: U-

shaped spring secured at one end thereto,.

and a pencil-gripping member having a pair of strapsstruck up from thesame and prey senting" loops alined longitudinally" of thepencilgripping member and. the 'pencil-. gripping member, the springhaving one shank extending through both straps and the said straps beingcurved substantially. concentric with the back of the pencil grip} pingmember to clamp'the' said shank ofthe spring rigidly to the penCiIgr'ipping member. 1

3.71s. the manufacture of a pencil} clip having a U-shaped springattached at one,

end to its pressure member, thelmethod of securing. theother end. of thespring immovably to the pencil-banding. member which consists inslidably' inserting this: lat ter end of the springbetween suitablyspaced portions of the pencil-bandingmember while the latter has. itsmain parts fiat and amp: I

ing these portions upon the spring by the same operation which bends thesaid main parts to a pencil-bandingshape;

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, November JENS r1 NIELSEN;

